Saif Mir v H&H Builders and Contractors Ltd — 2021

The claimant filed the claim form on 19 January 2021, stating that his employment ended on 22 October 2019. The tribunal held that this was outside the ordinary three-month time limit for the claims brought, plus any Acas Early Conciliation extension. It said no reason had been given to justify extending time for the discrimination complaint on a just and equitable basis, and no reason had been given to show that it was not reasonably practicable to present the unfair dismissal and unlawful deduction claims in time.

On the substance of the unfair dismissal claim, the tribunal noted that the claimant had only been employed from 6 April 2019 to 22 October 2019, which was less than the two years' service normally required. The claimant did not assert any basis on which the service requirement did not apply, so the unfair dismissal claim was also dismissed for want of jurisdiction. The age discrimination claim failed because the claim form gave no indication of any link between age and the matters complained of. The unlawful deduction from wages claim was described as unparticularised.

The claimant did not respond to communications from the tribunal and did not attend the hearing. The tribunal said he had not actively pursued any of his claims and struck out all claims under Rule 37(1)(d). It also struck out the age discrimination and unlawful deduction claims under Rule 37(1)(a) for having no reasonable prospect of success. Although the respondent had not filed a response, the tribunal recorded that this did not mean an unmeritorious claim would succeed.